Rhabdomyolysis occurring under statins after intense physical activity in a marathon runner

This paper was published in Case Reports in Rheumatology 2015;2015:721078

Study title and authors:
Rhabdomyolysis Occurring under Statins after Intense Physical Activity in a Marathon Runner.

Toussirot É, Michel F, Meneveau N.
Clinical Investigation Center for Biotherapy, CIC-1431, FHU INCREASE, University Hospital of Besançon, 25000 Besançon, France

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25815236

This paper reports the case of a marathon runner who developed rhabdomyolysis.

(i) A 50 year old man healthy man started to take atorvastatin but soon suffered from severe muscle pain. He then was prescribed rosuvastatin.
(ii) The patient was a regular long-distance and marathon runner. He was preparing for an international competition.
(iii) On the day of the competition and while being still under rosuvastatin, the patient experienced progressively worsening muscular weakness. At the end of the race, he suffered from severe pains in the lower limbs similar to diffuse cramps associated with generalized muscle contraction.
(iv) Muscle enzymes (creatine kinase) were tested two days after the race and were at 2631 IU/L (normal levels 300) and he was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis.
(v) One year later, (without taking the statins), for another marathon, the patient felt no muscle weakness at all or muscle contractions after the race.

Toussirot concluded: "Intense physical activity, as performed by statin treated athletes (whether professional or not and particularly during long-distance races) could have adverse consequences on muscles".